Year: 2020
Early missions to Ireland and Britain
The multiplication of churches and schools followed missionary efforts and the English churches were brought into closer contact with the Catholic system on the Continent. Roman Catholic authority later was extended over Ireland and Scotland.
Gregory I and the medieval papacy
Gregory, the first monk to sit on the papal chair, marked the transition from the ancient to the medieval. Appreciative of the old, he preserved orthodoxy while instituting changes that carried the Church forward. He also launched missionary campaigns to unreached barbarians north of the old frontier.
Fourth- and fifth-century monasticism
Monks cleared forests and built monasteries, setting for the common people an example of industry and morality. They preserved and copied ancient manuscripts, studied the writings of the past, and established monastery schools. Certain of the monks became missionaries to the forest tribes of the North.
Impact of seventh-century Islam
The seventh century saw the rise of Mohammedanism when Mohammed made Mecca the center of his new cult. Believing that a new religious era had been established in 622, the year Mohammed fled for his life from Mecca, his followers carried on a militant crusade from country to country throughout the Near East. Their steady progress against all opposition resulted in the loss to the empire of Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain.